UAMS MASH Program Introduces High School Students to Health Care Careers

By Philip Allison

First held in 1988, MASH is a two-week program held at UAMS Regional Campuses and community hospitals across Arkansas. A similar program, condensed into a single week known as miniMASH, is also offered. Participants must be entering the 11th or 12th grades and have at least a 2.5 grade point average. In a related program, students who will be entering eighth, ninth or 10th grade are eligible for a one-week intensive Community Health Applied in Medical Public Service (CHAMPS) program.

This year, 27 different sessions were held in 23 cities around the state. The program is free for students, thanks to a partnership with Arkansas Farm Bureau. In 2023, Arkansas Farm Bureau pledged a gift of $500,000 over five years to create the Farm Bureau Fund for Excellence, which will support health career recruitment efforts.

The MASH program offers a variety of hands-on activities and in-person experiences, such as:

• Tour of the UAMS mobile unit

• Suturing

• Casting

• Blood typing

• Porcine heart dissection

• Respiratory therapy

• Mock trauma simulation

• Sonography

• Genetic counseling

UAMS MASH Program Introduces High School Students to Health Care Careers

UAMS Regional Campuses Mark 50th Anniversary

By Chris Carmody

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) in 2023 celebrated the 50th anniversary of its Regional Campuses, a network that has provided high-quality education and health care in rural and underserved communities throughout the state. 

UAMS Regional Campuses, originally known as the Arkansas Area Health Education Center (AHEC) program, were founded in 1973 to encourage UAMS medical school graduates to remain in Arkansas, as well as to help address the state’s shortage and uneven distribution of primary care physicians.  

AHEC programs began to take root across the nation after a 1970 report from the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education outlined the urgent need to address a nationwide shortage of health professionals. With the support of then-Gov. Dale Bumpers, UAMS leaders and health professionals, the Arkansas General Assembly appropriated $1 million to establish the state’s program.  

UAMS Regional Campuses Mark 50th Anniversary

During its annual convention in November, the Arkansas Farm Bureau honored UAMS Regional Campuses with a plaque that recognized the 35th anniversary of the MASH program’s founding. The Arkansas Farm Bureau is a longtime supporter of MASH and other youth-outreach programs at UAMS. Image by Arkansas Farm Bureau

UAMS Receives 5-Year, Multimillion-Dollar Grant Renewal to Support Programs for Regional Campuses

By Chris Carmody

LITTLE ROCK — The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) has received a five-year renewal of funding under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ AHEC Point of Service Maintenance and Enhancement (POSME) grant, which will benefit programs administered by UAMS Regional Campuses.

The Health Resources and Services Administration, an agency in the Department of Health and Human Services, provides the POSME grant with the goal of preparing a diverse, culturally competent primary care workforce prepared to deliver high-quality care to various populations in rural and underserved areas.

UAMS will receive about $1.15 million during the grant year that ends Aug. 31, with $1.15 million provided in equal share by UAMS. The university is projected to receive $11.5 million, with 50% provided by nongovernment funds, during the grant’s five-year term.

https://news.uams.edu/2023/06/20/uams-receives-5-year-multimillion-dollar-grant-renewal-to-support-programs-for-regional-campuses/

Students from UAMS' Medical Applications of Science for Health (MASH) camp in Texarkana tour an operating room at Christus St. Michael Health System. Image by Destiny Carter